Robert F. Kennedy Receives $8 Million Donation From Running Mate Nicole Shanahan

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was able to ramp up his efforts to get on the ballot in all 50 states after receiving an $8 million donation from his running mate, Silicon Valley lawyer Nicole Shanahan.

Shanahan’s infusion allowed the campaign to spend $6.5 million in April, up nearly 50% from March. It paid more than $2.2 million to Accelevate 2020 LLC, a Texas firm that works on ballot access and campaign services and has previously worked with presidential candidates of both parties.

Kennedy’s campaign spent more than $60,000 on consulting with other vendors related to getting on the ballot and reported paying ballot access filing fees in Illinois and Oklahoma.

Other expense categories for the longshot campaign last month included $404,000 paid to the firm of Gavin de Becker for security services and $398,000 spent on online advertising.

Despite the success, the campaign’s small-donor donations decreased in April. Kennedy received $843,000 from unitemized donors – those giving less than $200 – down from $1.3 million from such donors in March. This marked the lowest unitemized donor total for the campaign for any month this calendar year.

Though the small donor money may not be necessary if his running mate continues donating, the lack of funds may indicate little support from grassroots voters.